want to save a little money but don't know how

kittykate_2

Hi
Can someone point me in the right direction? I'm having a little trouble deciding what to do. I want to save a little money. Between £20 and £50 a month, depending on how much I earn that month. Ideally in an account I can manage online, so I can just do a transfer from my current account to the savings account. I just don't know what to do. All these interest rates and terms and conditions are doing my head in. I just wanna save the money. I'm with hsbc at the mo - grad account.

Soo, can anyone point me in the right direction? Do I go talk to the bank or what? :eek:

KKx

mrbadexample

:wave:

Well, the current recommended savings account would be ICICI bank, here.

Some people have reported problems setting it up and using it, but I haven't had any trouble at all. It pays 5.15% interest, which is pretty good. It's online only, and you set it up with a linked account (i.e. your HSBC if you're staying there). You could set it up to automatically transfer £20 a month, and manually transfer extra if you're feeling a bit flush.

You might also consider an ISA, as they're tax-free, but it depends how often you would want to withdraw etc.

People wot know more than wot I do should be able to help more.

si1503

for the best interest rates go with a regular savings account, but access and flexability will be limited, if you wanted an account you can manage online with easy access and flexability an internet savings account would be a better option, right now the best ones are ICICI at 5.15%, YBS at 5.1% and bham midshires at 5.2% (1 yr offer)

cheerfulcat

Hi, kittykate,

I wouldn't worry too much about the terms & conditions; most people never even read them! Just decide on what you want out of the account ( easy/no easy access, internet operable, and so on ), then go to moneysupermarket.com and find an account that suits you. Broadly speaking it makes sense to go for the account with the highest rate of interest, preferably fixed and without a bonus period. But there are no hard and fast rules; people who don't mind moving their money around constantly will be on the lookout for the highest interest rate; those who prefer not to spend the time watching rates and shuffling accounts tend to go for rates which, while possibly not the highest, are reliably competetive.

HTH

Cheerfulcat

teleaddict

My brain is getting a little slow (it must be too late at night for me);) .
If the intrest rate is 5.15% gross AER, what would the net equivalent be, for a standard tax rate payer?

ReportInvestor

AER 4.12% net for a brt

EagerLearner

I opened an ICICI account and it's fine - easy to open and easy to run as long as you set up th e'linked' account properly - this is, the account you want the money to come from (your grad account I guess?).

Then you will get interest monthly and be able to withdraw whenever you need to...

lynzpower

I know this is probably not the best, but I opened a Cahoot savings account via quidco and i got 20 quid, I now think its gone up to 26.

If you are wanting the flexibility to get the money out whenever, mines not a serious one its just really for Xmas presents, and theres litttle in there, then fine.

Although my A&L does a regular saver at 10% I think Im sure Ive seen a leaflet on it somewhere in the flat :rolleyes:

EagerLearner

A&L now do a regular saver at 12%!!!

This means you set an amount that you are going to save each month (you can't change this amount later) and you then pay by standing order each month. Once the 12 months are up, you get interest on top - worth doing if you don't need to get to the money for a year - as Lynzpower says - Cahoot will earn you £26 cashback via Quidco, which is possibly more than the interest you'd earn in a year on another account - so it may suit you better?

My 2 pennies worth is that I found the service at Cahoot left alot to be desired... but if it's just one account you want, that needs little management from them, it should be fine.

teleaddict

thanks for that ReportInvestor. I think that shift working is doing my head in......

anniecave

EagerLearner wrote:

My 2 pennies worth is that I found the service at Cahoot left alot to be desired...

I had a cahoot savings a year or so again, and service was really good. I closed it, and reopened a couple of months ago as I was thinking of moving my currrent account to them too, and they have been absolutely useless! It just depends I think. For free cashback, might be worth while...

I'd go for ICICI for savings though seriously....